Clamping apparatus for use in the attachment of heels to shoes



Nov. 25, 1952 LEAHY ETAL 2,618,795

CLAMPING APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE ATTACHMENT 0F HEELS TO SHOES Original Filed Aug. 7. 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Jrmes F Lea/1y John, WAs/zle? y fizeirAtlforney Inventors Nov. 25, 1952 J. F. LEAHY' ETAL 2,618,795

CLAMPING APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE ATTACHMENT OF HEELS TO SHOES Original Filed Aug. 7, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Inventors James FLec hy John W Ashley By i'heirAzfbrney Patented Nov. 25, 1952 CLAMPING. APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE ATTACHMENT OF HEELS TO SHOES James F. Leahy and John W. Ashley, Beverly,

Mass., assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J.', a corporation of New Jersey Original application August 7, 1948, Serial No.

43,046. Divided and this application October 11, 1951, Serial No. 250,902

Claims. 1

This invention relates to clamping apparatus for use in the attachment of heels to shoes by the use of thermoplastic resin in accordance with the practice disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,600,507, granted June 17, 1952, on an application filed in our names and of which the present application is a division.

The present invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the same selected for purposes of illustration/said invention being fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 shows in side elevation, partly broken away, illustrative clamping apparatus for forcing a heel against the heel seat of a shoe and an injector about to inject thermoplastic resin into undercut cavities of the heel seat of the shoe and attaching face of the heel for the purpose of permanently attaching the heel to the shoe;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig; 1; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are angular views'showing in detail a heel engaging portion of the illustrative clamping apparatus.

In the above-mentioned Patent No. 2,600,507 there is disclosed a method by the practice of which a heel may be permanently attached to a shoe 22 and which comprises providing in the heel seat of the shoe a reentrant cavity (not shown), providing in the attaching face of the heel a reentrant cavity 24, forcing by the use of clamping apparatus 25 the heel under heavy pressure against the heel seat of the shoe, injecting by the use of an injector or gun 26 through a passage 23 extending vertically through the heels into the aforesaid cavities and into voids existing between the heel and the heel seat of the shoe softened thermoplastic resin 30 under relatively high pressure in orderquickly substantially to fill the cavities and voids, and continu ing to inject further quantities of softened ther-' moplastic resin under relatively low pressures into the cavities andvoids until said cavities and voids are completely filled.

A chamber 32 in the injector 26 is filled with resin supplied through a passage 3t from an extruder (not shown) to which the injector may be quickly and effectively coupled, the resin entering the chamber and displacing a plunger 36 which is constantly urged into the chamber 32 by a heavy spring 38. When the chamber 32 of the injector 26 coupled to the extruder has beenfllled the ex-truder is automatically rendered inactive by contact of the plunger 36 with a microswitch A0. The operator then uncouples the injector 25 from the extruderand inserts a nozzle 42 of said injector into the passage 20 in the heel 20 which has been forced against theheel seat of the shoe 22 by the clamping apparatus-25 which will hereinafter be described in detail.

The thermoplastic resin filling the-chamber- 32 of the injector 26 is released causing it, under the action of the spring-pressed plunger 36, to be injected through the nozzle lZ-and into the-passage 28 after operating a rotary valve' Min response to depression of a lever 46 which'is held raised by a spring (not shown) and ispositioned above a handle 43 of the injector. -After the resin has filled the cavities and-voids in the work as Well as a substantial portion of the passage 28 in the heel, the operator releases the lever 46 which moves to its closed position shown in Fig. 1 under spring action. I

The illustrative clamping apparatus comprises a frame 50 which is bolted to a bench or other suitable support (not shown) vand has secured to it, by screws 52 and a fulcrum screw 54, a yoke 56. Slidingly adjustable on a guide portion 51 (Fig. 3) atvthe upper end of the yoke56 is a split supporting bracket 58 having a pair of forwardly extending bifurcations 60, the bracket be, ing secured in different adjusted positionsion said guide portion by avbinding screw 62. Pivote ally supported in alined bores 64, of the bifurcations 60 are pins 66 which are secured by screws 68 to a tread end abutment or plate 10 and which are pinned to a pair of rearwardly extending arms 12 into the rear ends of which are threaded screws 14 extending through slots 16 in a U- shaped gage supporting member l8 arranged in guideways formed in said arms. The abutment ill has a flat lower heel engaging surface 82 and a tapered opening 84 through which the nozzle 42 of theinjector 26 is inserted preparatory to forcing resin into the passage 28 of the heel 20 to be attached to the shoe 22. Adjustable into different forward and rearward positions in a guideway 80 of the gage supporting member 18, after releasing a locking screw 80, is a V-shaped back gage constructed and arranged to be engaged by the rear face of the heel, the abutment 10 and the back gage being movable as a unit into a predetermined angular operating position about an axis 92 of the pins 66 against a screw 94 which is threaded into the split bracket 58 and is engaged by an abutment 06 forming part of the gage supporting member 18. The tread end abutment I0 and the back gage 90 may be moved as a unit into different angular positions about the axis 92 which may be described as extending transverselv of the shoe and as arranged substantially parallel to the sur face 82 of the abutment I and in close proximity to said surface. Friction between the pins 68 and the forwardly extending bifurcations 60 of the bracket 58 is sufiicient to retain the abutment block 96 in its operating position against the stop screw 94.

The back gage 90 may be moved into different adjusted positions along the guideway 86 of the supporting member I8 and may be moved into different adiusted positions generally heightwise of the heel by raising or lowering the gage supporting member I8 along the guidewavs 80 of the arms I2. The various members which are sup orted hv the bifurcations 60 and comprise the abutment I0 and the back gage 90 may be described as a holder.

The shoe 22 mounted upon a last or form 98 is supported in the illustrative clamping apparatus by a knurled support I00 fulcrumed on a pin I02 secured to a lever I04 which is pivoted upon the fulcrum screw 54, said lever having a cylindrical recess I06 for receiving an upper ball end I08 of a manually operated thru t member or screw I I0 threaded into the yoke 56. The lever I04 is constantly urged a ainst the ball end I08 of the screw H0 by a spring I I2, opposite ends of which are attached to hooks fixed to the lever I04 and to the yoke 56. The fulcrum screw 54 is so positioned with relation to the yoke 56 that when the lever I04 moves clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1 upon upward advancement of the screw I I0 in the yoke. said lever moves the Su port I 00, then in engagement with the cone of the last 98 upon which the shoe is mounted, heightwise and rearward of the shoe. The heightwise and rearward components of movement of the support I00 carried by the lever I04 may be varied by moving the yoke 56 into different adjusted positions upon the frame 50 so as to change the location of the fulcrum screw 54 about which the lever I04 pivots with relation to the yoke 56.

In practicing the above described heel attaching method the operator places the heel 20 u on the fitted heel seat of the shoe 22 and after moving the tread face of the hee assembled wit the shoe into en a ement with the lower face 82 of the abutment I0 and the rear face of the heel into engagement with the back gage 90, operates the screw IIO to force with con iderable pressure the knurled support I00 against the cone of the last 98 upon which the shoe is mounted.

Preparatory to assembling the heel and the shoe the pivotally mounted holder which comprises the abutment I0 and the heel gage 90 is moved to its frictionallv held operat ve position against the screw 94. Clockwise rotation of the hand screw IIO as viewed from below causes the lever I04 to swing clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1 with the result that the support I 00 is moved upward and rearward causing the heel seat of the shoe to be forced with considerable pressure against the attaching face of the heel held against movement by the abutment I0 and the back gage 90 and heel breast receiving shoulders of the sole of the shoe to be forced against the breast of the heel with considerable pressure. The upward and rearward components of movement of the support I 00 may be varied to increase or decrease the amount of pressure of the heel breast receiving shoulders against the breast of the heel by changing the position of the yoke 56 with relation to the fulcrum screw 54.

In order permanently to attach the heel 20 to the shoe 22 by thermoplastic resin 30 after positioning and clamping the heel against the heel seat of the shoe in the above described clamping apparatus, the operator removes the injector 26 from the extruder (not shown) and the nozzle 42 of the injector is inserted through the opening 84 in the abutment I0 of the clamp and into the passage or bore 28 of the heel, a flange of the nozzle resting on the upper face of the abutment. The lever 46 of the injector 26 is then depressed with the result that the thermoplastic resin in the chamber 32 is initially forced under relatively high pressure into the undercut cavities in the attaching face of the heel and the heel seat of the shoe as Well as into the voids formed between the attaching face of the heel and the shoe. When the cavities and voids have been almost filled and the resin begins to build up in the passage 28 in the heel, the injector is raised out of the passage and as the tip of the nozzle 42 approaches the top lift receiving face of the heel the operator releases the lever 46 of the injector thereby permitting the valve to close under spring action and moves the injector from the work and then couples it to the extruder preparatory to again charging the injector.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In clamping apparatus for use in the at tachment of a heel to a shoe, a support for a form upon which a shoe is mounted, a holder comprising an abutment and a gage constructed and arranged to be engaged by the thread and rear faces respectively of a heel positioned upon a heel seat of the shoe, said abutment having an opening to provide access to a passage which is formed in the heel and terminates at the tread end of the heel, said holder being movable into different angularly adjusted positions, and means for moving the support simultaneously heightwise and rearward of the shoe to force with heavy pressure the heel seat of the shoe against the attaching face of the heel held against movement by the holder and heel breast receiving shoulders formed on the sole of the shoe against the breast of the heel.

2. In a clamping apparatus for use in the attachment of a heel to a shoe, a support for a last upon which a shoe is mounted, a holder comprising an abutment and a gage constructed and arranged to be engaged by tread and rear faces respectively of a heel positioned upon the heel seat of the shoe, said abutment having an opening for facilitating access to a passage which is formed in the heel and one end of which terminates in the tread end of the heel, said holder being movable into different angularly adjusted positions, a support mounted for pivotal movement simultaneously heightwise and rearward of the shoe to force with heavy pressure the heel seat of the shoe against the attaching face of the heel held against movement by the holder and heel breast receiving shoulders formed on the sole of the shoe against the breast of the heel, and means for swinging the support, said holder being adjustable with relation to the support to cause the components of movement of the support heightwise and rearward of the shoe to be varied.

3. In clamping apparatus for use in the attach-'- ment of a heel to a shoe, a support for a l'ast'upon which a shoe is mounted, a holder comprising an abutment and a gage constructed and arranged to be engaged by the tread and rear faces respectively of a heel which is positioned upon a heel seat of the shoe with its breast adjacent to the heel breast receiving shoulders on a sole of the shoe, said holder being mounted for movement into different angularly adjusted operative positions, and means for simultaneously moving the support heightwise and rearward of the shoe mounted upon it to force the heel seat and the heel breast receiving shoulders of the shoe against the attaching face and breast of the heel held against movement by the holder, said abutment of the holder having an opening shaped and arranged to expose the central part of the tread end of the heel and said gage of the holder being adjustable generally lengthwise and heightwise of the heel with relation to the abutment.

4. In clamping apparatus for use in the attachment of a heel to a shoe, a support for a last upon which a shoe is mounted, a yoke, a frame upon which the yoke is mounted, a holder which is supported by the yoke and which comprises an abutment and a gage constructed and arranged to be engaged by the tread and rear faces respectively of a heel positioned upon a heel seat of the shoe, means for moving the holder into different angularly adjusted positions upon the yoke, a lever which is mounted for pivotal movement upon the frame about an axis and upon which the support is pivotally mounted, a thrust member which is threaded into the yoke and which is engaged by the lever and is constructed and. arranged to move the support heightwise and rearward of the shoe to force the heel seat and heel breast receiving shoulders of the shoe against the attaching face and the breast of the heel held against movement by the holder, and resilient means for holding the lever in engagement with the thrust member, said yoke being movable into different adjusted positions on said frame to vary the operating position of the holder with relation to the axis of pivotal movement of said lever thereby varying the heightwise and rearward components of movement of the support.

5. In a clamping apparatus for use in the attachment of a heel to a shoe, a support for a last upon which a shoe is mounted, a holder which comprises an abutment having a flat surface constructed and arranged to be engaged by the tread face of the heel positioned upon the heel seat of the shoe and which comprises a gage constructed and arranged to be engaged by the rear face of said heel, said abutment having an opening for facilitating access to a passage which is formed in the heel and one end of which terminates at the tread end of the heel, said holder being movable into diiferent angularly adjusted positions about an axis which extends transversely of the shoe and which is substantially parallel to said surface of the abutment and is located in close proximity to said surface, a support mounted for pivotal movement simultaneously heightwise and rearward of the shoe to force with heavy pressure the heel seat of the shoe against the attaching face of the heel held against movement by the holder and heel breast receiving shoulders formed on the sole of the shoe against the breast of the heel, and means for swinging the support, said holder being adjustable with relation to the support to cause the components of movement of the support heightwise and rearward of the shoe to be varied.

JAMES F. LEAHY. JOHN W. ASHLEY.

No references cited. 

